Nerd culture celebrated with downtown Greeley store devoted to it

Travis Parry of Fort Collins sweeps the floor while cleaning up after a game night at his new store, The Nerd Store in downtown Greeley. Parry opened the store last month after his wife, Michelle, told him he needed a one-stop shop for his nerd hobbies.

Travis Parry talks on the phone with a customer in between sweeping the floor at his new store. Parry's worked 100 hours on some weeks, as he's the only one who mans the store besides a part-time employee.

Friday — Two Magic: The Gathering games. These focus on a “draft” style of play.

Saturday — Legend of the Five Rings at 1 p.m. and more casual Magic games at 8 p.m.

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Travis Parry wanted to run his own store. His wife gave him an idea while she was making fun of him.

He talked to Michelle about starting a hobby. It was probably a new board game. Parry’s played hundreds of them in the last decade.

“You and your nerd hobbies,” she said to him. “You need a one-stop shop.”

The next morning, Parry woke up with a business idea.

It took a year-and-a-half after that morning, but Parry just opened The Nerd Store in downtown Greeley in the first week of October. Yep, he even kept the name from his wife’s suggestion.

It’s appropriate. Parry’s selling comics, board and card games, graphic novels and the occasional toy, such as a lightsaber (and if you don’t know what that is, seriously, why are you reading this story?). It’s just about everything that Parry, a self-described nerd, loves. He hosts a different game or two every night except Sundays, his day off, and he’s usually an active participant.

Parry lives in Fort Collins with his family, but he chose Greeley because he saw a market here. His only niche competition comes from the Digital Dungeon, 1705 9th St., but the Nerd Store, Parry said, is Greeley’s only comics store for the moment, and Digital Dungeon carries more figurine games. Both stores carry board and card games. The Nerd Store’s monopoly on comics will be short-lived, as a third store, Grand Slam Sports Cards and Comics of Loveland, will expand into Greeley’s University Square shopping center before Thanksgiving.

Both stores run game nights (and Grand Slam says on its Facebook page that it will do the same), but those should be different, save for a love for “Magic: The Gathering,” which is understandable given that games’ continuing huge popularity.

“There is some overlap,” Parry said, “but really, we should be able to co-exist happily together.”

Fort Collins supports at least two similar stores to his own, Parry said, and he’s a fan of both, another reason he turned to Greeley.

Parry took his time before he opened, spending 60 hours a week researching industry trends, writing an 80-page business plan and learning as much as he could from other stores and forums.

Since he opened, he’s spent 100 hours a week at the store. He has two children, 3 and 6, and he calls himself a “Sunday Dad” right now. He was planning on 80 and was hoping for 60.

He can only afford one part-time employee. One of his goals is to move that employee, a good one, into full-time and hire another part-timer. Another is to offer some art gallery space in the store. A third is to be profitable by early next year. Christmas is coming, which he hopes will balance out his initial investment of buying all that product. He’s already planning a Black Friday sale.

Nerd culture remains hot. Parry, 30, was called a nerd by kids on the playground, but that name doesn’t carry the sting it once did. In fact, many now consider it a badge of honor.

“I do want to cater to more than just hard-core nerds,” Parry said, “but now it’s turning the tables. It’s owning the name. It’s a different culture. All of the top movies are nerd movies now. We rule the world.”

There have already been some nice surprises. A grandmother, he said, came by the other day to buy a present. He had more than 20 at a game night last week. New customers such as Jesus Ramos, 20, come in often to explore. Ramos stared at Parry’s collection of comics and graphic novels before Parry came by for a chat. Talking to customers is one of his favorite things to do.

“This is great,” Ramos, 20, said after Parry left to help another customer. “Until this, we had to drive up to Denver.”

Michelle is supportive of the store. She wasn’t sure, Parry said, but now appears to be into it after seeing some of the products.

“We’ll make her a nerd yet,” Parry said.

Parry said this while holding a broom in his hand. He still needed to clean up after last night’s games. But then he looked over at Ramos, who flipped through a Batman comic. He walked over to him.